BEIJING, Dec 17 (Reuters) - China is considering a national appeals court specializing in intellectual property rights, the China Daily has cited a senior Chinese judge as saying, as the world’s second-largest economy tightens regulation of patents and trademarks.

“(We) shall make the establishment of a national-level IPR court of appeals a national strategy,” Tao Kaiyuan, vice president of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), reportedly said during a conference in Beijing on Friday.

The SPC would come up with a more detailed plan after consultation, according to the official China Daily, citing Tao’s comments at the conference.

A leading group of senior judges would coordinate judicial reform in IPR cases in the region around Beijing and Hebei province, she said.

China filed 1 million patent applications last year, becoming the first country to reach that level in a single year, according to a global industry watchdog.